Family Ties - Season 3
Family Ties - Season 3 The third season of Family Ties aired from September 20, 1984 to March 28, 1985 on NBC SAqwrjipwoerf Season 3 Summary Set during the early years of the Reagan administration, Elyse and Steven Keaton (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross) are baby-boomers, former Hippies and liberals raising their three children: Alex (Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer (Tina Yothers) in Suburban Columbus, Ohio. Married in 1964, Elyse, an independen architect, and Steven, a station manager at a local public television, were hippies during the 1960s. According to the episode, "A Christmas Story" in season one, they were influenced by John F. Kennedy and were members of the Peace Corps following their marriage in 1964. Alex was born in 1965 in Africa. Mallory was born while Elyse and Steven were students at the University of California, Berkeley in 1967, and Jennifer was born the night Richard Nixon won his second term in 1972. Much of the humor of the series was focused on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the conservative politics which came to define the 1980s. Both Alex and Mallory embrace Reaganomics and exhibit right-wing attitudes: Alex is a Young Republican and Mallory is a more traditional young woman in contrast to her feminist mother. Mallory was also presented as a vacuous airhead, which was fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother Alex. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Elyse and Steven have a fourth child, Andrew, born in 1984. Cast Main Cast * Meredith Baxter-Birney - Elyse Keaton * Michael Gross - Steven Keaton * Michael J. Fox - Alex P. Keaton * Justine Bateman - Mallory Keaton * Tina Yothers - Jennifer Keaton * Brian Bonsall - Andrew Keaton (seasons 5-7) Recurring Cast * Marc Price - Irwin "Skippy" Handelman * Scott Valentine - Nick Moore (seasons 4-7) * Tracy Pollan - Ellen Reed (season 4) * Courtney Cox - Laureen Miller (seasons 5-7) Guest stars * Judith Light - Stacey Hughes (season 2) * Tom Hanks - Ned Donnelly (seasons 1-2) * Geena Davis - Karen Nicholson (season 3) * River Phoenix - Eugene (season 4) * Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Susan "Raindrop" White, Esq. (season 6) * Crispin Glover - Doug (season 2) * Wil Wheaton - Timothy Higgins (season 5) * Corey Feldman - Student Walter (season 4) * Jeff Cohen - Marv, Jr. (season 5)/Dougie Barker (season 3) * Christina Applegate - Kitten (season 5) * Stephen Baldwin - Bobby (season 7) * Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Dougie (season 6) Episode list The Gambler :Directed by: Will Mackenize, Written by: Alan Uger & Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: September 20, 1984, Production code: 046 During an architects' convention in Atlantic City, Elyse succumbs to the lures of gambling. She loses her fight against temptation after trying to persuade Alex not to go into the casino to try his hand at blackjack. Here We Go Again :Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Ruth Bennett & Alan Uger, Original air date: September 27, 1984, Production code: 047 Elyse contracts her doctor as she feels ill and discovers she is pregnant again. The family all feel strongly against it until they realize how good it could be. Little Man on Campus :Directed by: John Pasquin, Written by: Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: October 4, 1984, Production code: 050 Alex enters college as a freshman and finds out there is more to college than being smart when faced with a difficult professor. Love Thy Neighbor :Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Rich Reinhart (story), Alan Uger & Michael J. Weithorn (teleplay), Original air date: October 11, 1984, Production code: 054 To win Scott's attention, Jennifer dresses up in a flirtatious outfit and goes to the restaurant where he is having dinner with Mallory.